Читать книгу Little Girl Lost: Volume 1 of the Little Girl Lost Trilogy - Cindy Hanna - Страница 11

CHAPTER 6

Needing distance from Ax, having nowhere else to go and intrigued by the glittery opportunities Vegas might hold for them, Sally and Angel decide to hitch rides-for-favors towards the strip club Misty had told them about and Mama Pearl. They arrive in Sin City a couple of days later and rent a motel room off the main strip a block down from the gentlemen’s club. Exhausted, they decide to wait until the following day to meet Mama Pearl and talk to the club’s owner about getting jobs. They shower and climb into their own beds. Sleeping separately seems strange after having shared a bed for so many years. Sally stretches out in an attempt to touch all four corners simultaneously. “Look, Angel, I can almost reach.”

The vision of her friend splayed like a human cross makes Angel laugh. “You’re strange.”

Sally grins broadly. “That may be, but I’ve got my own bed, and I’m loving it. Did I ever tell you that you hog the sheets?”

“Yeah, right, little miss elbow-me-in-the-ribs-all-night-long.”

Both girls giggle. Angel grows serious, props herself up and looks at her friend and says, “Sally, there’s no one I’d rather go on this adventure with. Love you.”

A contented look lightens Sally’s face. “Love you, too. Good night.”

Sally’s eyes fall on a wall picture of Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion just before Angel clicks off the light. The room falls silent as both girls close their eyes. The only sound is their deep rhythmic breathing.

Sally has a final thought before drifting off to sleep.

There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place li….

* * * * *

Sally sees the shards of wood splinter from around the doorjamb as it explodes inward. There is no sound…just visuals. An intimidating hulk fills the doorway—Ax.

A thousand images strobe through Sally’s mind: Ax’s sardonic grin, a scrap of paper with writing upon it, Angel screaming, Sally desperate to help, unimaginable pain. Then silence. Deafening silence….

* * * * *

Sally awakes in a pool of sweat with her heart racing. She cannot catch her breath—her chest rapidly rises and falls. Panicking, she breaks out in a cold sweat.

Ax…oh, my God…Ax. Where is he?

She opens her eyes and looks around, fearing the worst. There on the wall is the picture of Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion from her motel room. She looks to the bed beside her and sees Angel sleeping peacefully. She tries to push the sleepiness from her head in order to think. Sitting up in bed, she rubs her eyes. Gradually, her breathing resumes its normal pace, her heart rate slows and her mind begins to clear, as she realizes where she is and what has happened.

Another dream. Another one of my fucking dreams. Quickly! Quickly! I must pull together the facts. I’ve got to try to remember what the dream told me. A…a…room. A dark room…at night. There was something else. What was it?

“Damn!” Sally says aloud. “I’m missing something...something very important.

Concentrate. Concentrate! I have to try to remember. My dreams are never wrong. There’s no room for mistakes. That’s it!” She states this somewhat loudly, startling herself. “That’s got to be it! It has something to do with mistakes. No. Not mistakes, but a mistake...a very important one!”

Sally lies down, exhausted. The dream is gone. She knows it is useless to try to rack her brain. Detecting the beginnings of a headache, the jackhammer pounding at her temple, she closes her eyes in an attempt to dull the pain and seeks comfort from her crack pipe. Inhaling deeply, she feels its euphoric sensation wash over her. Sally scratches without mercy at her skin.

Goddamn bugs! Why can’t I get them off of me?

She looks down at her arm, where she has been scratching. There are no bugs. She scratches harder in hopes of release from the sensation and takes another drag from her pipe. She is rewarded with a blissful bug-free feeling for a few minutes. When it subsides, the insect-ridden-skin feeling returns. Unaware that she has drawn blood, Sally resumes scratching.

Can’t believe I left that damn piece of paper behind with Mama Pearl’s name and the club’s address on it. Ax is gonna find it.

Sally gets out of bed and walks over to where her friend slumbers and shakes her. “Angel. Angel! You’ve got to wake up. We’re not safe here.” Sally takes another drag from her crack pipe.

Angel awakes, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She takes note of Sally and the pipe. “Hey. It’s okay. No one’s gonna hurt us here.”

Sally says, “But I saw him!”

“Who?”

“Ax. He was here. He found us.”

Angel gets up and puts her arm around her friend. “Look at us.

We’re fine. It’s just the crack playing tricks with your mind.”

Sally pulls away. “No! I had one of my dreams.”

Angel freezes, and the color drains from her face. “One of your dreams? Oh, my God! Ax is gonna find us!”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. We’re not safe here.”

Angel sits on the bed, pulling Sally down with her. Placing her hands on her friend’s shoulders, she turns so each of them is facing one another. “What exactly did you see in your dream?”

“We’ve got until Ax finds that note.”

“What note?”

“The one we left behind with Mama Pearl’s name and the club’s address on it. The one Misty wrote.”

“There’s no note,” Angel says. “Misty didn’t write down the information. She told it to us so there wouldn’t be any record for Ax to find.” A look of dawning understanding crosses Angel’s face and she continues, “Come on, let’s get you something to eat.”

Stamping her foot, Sally’s voice rings with the defiance of a small child. “I’m not hungry!”

“Then why don’t you put down the pipe and take a break.”

“Okay.”

Putting the pipe away, Angel states, “I think that’s enough for tonight.”

Sally scratches mercilessly at her skin. “I can’t get these damn bugs off me.”

“I know. Let’s get you a shower. That’ll wash ‘em off.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah.”

Angel showers Sally and tucks her into bed.

“I’m so tired. I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“Me too.” Angel looks at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s the middle of the night. Let’s go back to bed. We’ll wake up feeling better in the morning.”

“Sounds nice. Stay with me? I don’t want to be alone.”

Angel lies down beside her friend and hugs her close. “I’ll be right here. I won’t leave your side.”

Sally relaxes in the safety of Angel’s embrace and repeats her words while drifting off to sleep, “Won’t leave your....” She smiles and lets out a heavy sigh. “Hmm. That was the last thing I told my brother before we crashed over the wave.” She falls into a deep sleep.

Tears stream down Angel’s face.

Oh, Sally girl. Wish you could see what this shit’s doing to you. Wish I could save you. I’d give anything if I could, but I can’t. All I can do is stay by your side.